Brand of The Villain
by Tribal Bard
Summary: Was his heart yet another Fire Nation block of coal blackened in the murderous ovens of his homeland, or was he another sort of man… as he had briefly made her believe? My Book of Fire series, second chapter is now up... Zutara to be included.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Air bender. They belong to their respective creators, owners and licensees.**

* * *

He could have made a very good villain.

The intimidating glint in his golden eyes against the scarlet blaze of his scar drew an image to be branded into many a reluctant memory. The subtle increasing and decreasing intensity beneath the velvet smoothness of his voice indicated a cruel yet, passionate nature. He wasn't one to be trifled with, that she knew from the very beginning.

He could have made a very good villain indeed, the firstborn son of the monarch whose troops bathed the seas and continents with the blood of war and conquest. She wondered, was he even ashamed at his aggressive legacy? Was his heart yet another Fire Nation block of coal blackened in the murderous ovens of his homeland, or was he another sort of man… as he had briefly made her believe?

Knowing she should forget, she struggled to resist thinking of him. He could have made a very good villain, but a villain he was not. He was something else, with such a sorrow locked away in the depths of his eyes that her breath was stolen right out of her lungs and words snatched right off her tongue. The world ground to a halt around her and suddenly Prince Zuko of The Fire Nation was no longer a villain. His skin, when she touched it, was warm. But then he made that fateful move on the board and transformed the kind warmth of their brief touch to a searing scorch of betrayal.

And she knew she should forget about him, even though she knew he was something else.

Slowly the stars drifted, circling the dark dome of the heaven and leaving wispy trails of blue fire in their wake. 'Twas a moonless night, and in the absence of their colossal lunar rival the constellations shone brighter than ever, or at least brighter than any other night her memory could provide her with. The water Tribe girl let her tired eyes trace the stellar chart of fates and omens, shapes and figures to which she was ignorant, although Gran-gran would have nodded her head wisely, pale gray eyes intensifying with unspoken words, unshared stories... Such stories were more than often cached away for the proper time of sharing, perhaps besides the glowing embers of a dying midwinter bone fire.

'Listen closely my children' her aged voice would rasp 'For a lot of tales are spun on earth but are lost to the heaven…' this was how it always started, these were always her words before she swept them away into a tale rich with trials and triumphs. She and her brother, the scruffiest pair of all the village's ruffians, would huddle beneath the soft pelts and furs and they would listen, listen and imagine the glorious and exciting adventures that one day they would surely partake in themselves…

Katara sighed bitterly; Thinking of the old days made her heart ache and twist with longing to her home village, and Gran-gran. How she missed her great grandmother. She yearned for her gentle counsel, for the aged wisdom in her gaze. If she couldn't have that… at least, she prayed to the Moon and Ocean, at least just one more time she would want to feel her Gran-gran's warm and soft fleshed hand on her face – caressing her brow and smoothing away the lines of worry and agitation.

Though her wish was simple, the times were not.

Curled against his flying bison's white coat, Aang groaned and mumbled in his sleep, sweaty palms clenching and unclenching at his sides. Four hours into the night that saw the fall of Ba Sing Se and the young Avatar was still weak and trembling with fatigue. Distracted from her midnight musings, Katara rushed to his side, to straighten the blankets over him and replace the wet cloth on his forehead. Ocean be her witness, he was the cause of her restlessness. He was the reason she could find no comfort in the warmness inside her bedroll tonight. Her concern for him was overbearing, and it was tinged with guilt.

"Hold on Aang… don't give up…" she whispered into the enveloping silence, her dark toned hand reaching to grasp his paler one.

Holding his frail form she couldn't help but rally at the injustice of it all. He was so young, not a man, barely even a teenager… still they were all counting on him. He was just a kid… still they were pushing him forward, deeper and deeper into the harshness of this war-plagued era, so that he could descend all the stairs into the bowels of hell and extinguish the flame of which its' fires fed.

And even though she knew it was his destination and predestination, and even though she knew he had the heart and spirit and strength to topple and turn the tables… even though she knew 'twas his fate written up there in the stars … She didn't want to let him go. She couldn't let him go there. He was her friend, she wanted to protect him… damn the struggle, she wanted him to be safe.

It's not that she didn't believe in Aang, no, it wasn't like that. In the emerald glow of the underground city, she uncovered the horrible truth that even he, Aang the Avatar, could be lost to her. That moment the fire princess's lighting pierced his chest and he started _falling…_

She couldn't lose him, like she lost her mother; she couldn't lose him and let him become nothing more than a hallucination to be glimpsed in the murky depths of a swamp in her memories.

"Can't sleep?" A tall silhouette stumbled over to her across the small camp occupied clearing, his dark countenance brash against the starlight. His eyes however, were as starkly pale as hers and shone silver in the darkness. "Neither can I."

She nodded at her brother, silently welcoming him to sit with her and share the comforting warmth steadily radiating out of Appa's snowy fur-coat. He eased himself down besides her with a grunt, his tired yet watchful eyes trailing a path from the concealing shadows of Toph's rock-tent to where the dethroned King leaned against his most loyal subject. Both man and bear were deep in slumber.

Too many things had gone awry all in one day. The young Water Tribe warrior didn't know whatever he should expect next, now that Earth Kingdom's last stronghold had fallen to the greedy clutches of the Fire Nation princess and her outcast brother.

"How is he?"

"I don't know Sokka…" she sighed again and turned to face him fully, letting him read the rare helplessness stressing her features. "I just don't know…"

His casual frown softening, Sokka wove his arm around her shoulders and held her to himAt times like this he wished he possessed his father's strength and leadership, though more than once now it seemed that they were Katara's inheritance more so than his. He leaned his head on top of hers. After all they have been through, she was still as strong and filled with the hope and honor they were handed down in their childhood.

"Don't worry sis'." He whispered as he gazed ahead over the fading glow of the sleepy campfire. Somehow, he knew, his baby sister would make the world a better place.

* * *

It was but a hint of dissatisfaction, a deformation darkening the otherwise content glimmer in her disregarding amber stare, slightly angling her full and rosy lips to a feline snarl. Though however subtle an expression it was, it was still more than enough to impress anxious wariness upon the green clad Dai Li standing in attendanceBeyond the tall pillars surrounding the Earth Palace's war room the night stretched black to the unperceived horizons.

"Six of you are to secure the area around his quarters." She instructed, her frown notable in her inclinations more than it was on her face. "My brother is free to wander around as he pleases. However, he's not to wander out of your sights. Shadow him, spy on him. I want everything unusual to be immediately and directly reported to me."

The first six stone-faced warriors of the first row nodded their heads in compliance, proceeding to smoothly dissolve into the shadows of the surrounding corridors. The Dai Li worked with doubtless precision and without delay.

"At all times, he's not to be left alone. Six at a time will carry this duty. Assign your shifts…" back straight, and head held high, she turned her back to them and her face to the night. "You are dismissed."

There was no uttered word, not even a swish of cloth or a scratch of metal. Still she knew they were no longer there. Given that they just transferred their loyalty to their former master to her, the hour was too early for double crossing, and anyway, it's not as if there was anyone to challenge her rule in Ba Sing Se. At least not for the time being, she reflected.

Her Uncle posed a threat, his power and wisdom were considerable and he turned both against her without hesitation. But the man was old and softhearted. Perhaps she could bend him, twist him and break him like a bamboo stick. Or perhaps her dear brother had already seen to that. Zuko's decision to side with her in the tunnels of the old city seems to have thrown Iroh into a dungeon lower and deeper than the one he already inhabited at the recesses of the palace.

And there was Zuko himself, willingly come to her side… he was definitely more powerful than the last time she had encountered him. Although he was still unable to wield the blue fire, his growth in strength and skill pushed her to question her own training methods. It was also painfully obvious, at least to her, that without his aid she would have been defeated.

He was also different. Whatever had pushed the passionate and duty-driven Prince Zuko to forsake his quest for honor and redemption and be content serving and attending tables at a Tea Shop? Was he truly happy living a detached and insignificant peasant life? Not that she thought the occupation unsuitable for her undeserving brother, but the fact was there and so was the scarred young man in Earth Kingdom greens, a stranger.

Still, a part of the old Zuko she knew so well was still there, powerful enough to reclaim within one single moment of doubt.

He couldn't forsake his honor.

Not that any of this mattered; his inner conflicts only served to magnify the caution with which she treated him all along. Just as she knew he would never trust her, she couldn't be asked to trust him back. They were locked in this game, in which no one must appear neither too interfering nor dominating or otherwise, too caring and falsely attentive towards the other. Grandchildren of Fire Lord Azulon, Children of Fire Lord Ozzai… their birthright has played them into this rivalry.

Few things were never certain, but this much she knew, that by the end one of them will have tasted and swallowed the bitter blood of betrayal. And damned she be should this one be her.

"Mai. Ty Lee." She called from her position; Her raised voice didn't break an octave and was just as calm and measured as a whispered threat.

Across the hall, two graceful figures rose to their feet. The one on the right made an exhibition of stretching her arms and legs, whipping her long rope of a braid around and over her shoulder and yawning shrilly. "Finally!" she complained, wearing an annoyingly childish pout. "I was getting _bored_, and _Mai_ here wasn't helping either…" the other girl, pale and raven-haired, merely raised one carefully arched eyebrow at the mention of her name. The rest of her face remained otherwise expressionless.

At last the fire princess turned to face them. A secretive smile defining her full and seductive lips.

"Before the Dai Li issued here", Azula began. "A messenger hawk arrived, bearing news of our troops' advancement. As for the hour they are crossing the outer walls and should start arriving within the city by daybreak. The moment they'll march in they'll secure Fire Nation hold on the city and we'll no longer depend on the Dai Li alone." There she paused and chuckled menacingly.

"I would sooner leave the city and return to trailing the Avatar, but I must remain here and await the _instructions_ my _father_ will surely deliver regarding the governing and management of external and internal affairs in the Earth Kingdom's capitol…", Her voice was tinged with none-to-carefully suppressed resentment as it caressed the words 'father' and 'instructions', it wasn't in her nature to bow down and please, even though she was obliged to do a remarkable amount of both when regarding her noble father.

"Still there's much to be done and much to be taken care of and for that," she nodded at her lifelong comrades. "Your help will be required."

In the center of the room there stood a great stone table, on which a map of the world was illustrated. Azula approached and let her calculating eyes roam its' generous expanse. Scattered on the painted surface were distinctly colored pieces, identifying wherever troops of the various nations were gathered. Her eyes delayed on a certain Earth Kingdom harbor to the southwest to Omashu, a cluster of blue painted pieces surrounded it. She pointed a single slender finger at it.

"Water Tribe ships have been attacking our forces docked at Jiao-Cha, I hear that a peasant uprising started there as well, enforced with rebels from the surrounding villages and the Water Tribe naval assaults. Our hold on the bay is weakened daily… You two are to head to Jiao-Cha tomorrow and aid the troops in dealing with the situation." She paused for a moment and the silence stretched and intensified as the fire princess bit her bottom lip, deep in contemplation.

Zuko and Iroh… brother Zuko and uncle Iroh… there was no use to Uncle, the Tea Loving geezer could very well rot away in a cell for all she cared, however, she also kept in mind that his presence was bad influence on the duty torn Zuko. If she wanted her brother whole with his decision to fight alongside her, then his connection with Uncle had to be severed. And this, as she would admit to no one but herself, was her underlying intent in all of this. At last, she spoke.

"My brother shall go with you."

There was a soft rustle of garments and a swift movement in the darkness, taking the three girls by surprise; a young man of uncalled presence emerged from behind one of the tall pillars and stepped into the flickering torchlight. Dark, heavy locks of his black hair fell over his golden eyes, throwing shadows over the angry red of his scar.

"And leave _you_ here?" his hiss was low and spiteful. "I don't think so."

* * *

Proud mountain peaks touched the rice paper white sky, their angling slopes beautifully tainted with dark shades of green and blue, which appeared even darker against the occasional pale brush strokes of the wind herded mists. Through the sheer fog one could only speculate whether the source of each distant color was a rock, a tree or a flower. Only the chilly wind seemed to wrap and entwine the scattered fragments of this vision, the wind that was everywhere.

It beat at his face and tugged the cape tightly around his shoulders, slipping and stumbling he ran the length of a boulder and clumsily skidded to a halt near the skinny guru standing there. The old man's gray unblinking eyes stared into the distance.

"Pathik?" the young boy whispered uncertainly. "Guru Pathik? It's me! Aang!"

The old man didn't stir, blink or betrayed any other little sign that could have indicated he acknowledged the young Avatar's presence there beside him. Aang saddened at this, but he had already learned to accept the man's odd behavior. Gurus were sometimes like that, by growing blind and in one world, they were enabled to _see _in another.

Now Aang's eyes tried to follow the old man's gaze, eager to decipher whatever fog-veiled source attracted the guru's attention.

And then… he _saw_ it.

There on the top of the highest mountain peak, drawing their gray lines against the clouds, were the arches of the Western Air Temple many stone domes.

"Why are we here?" He murmured into the short-lived silence that was torn, in the space of a single breath, by a savage, thundering roar.

Scales blazing black and scarlet it descended from the heavens, roaring out for blood. It reached down one vicious sickle shaped claw as it dove, mighty wings tearing through damp clouds and haze. The clouds shifted, swirled and changed as suddenly another serpent of brilliant silver shot out of the misty vale in a tangle, his toothy mouth agape, sending a note as high and clear as an eagle's cry to challenge the scarlet dragon's deep carnivorous growl.

His heart drumming in his ears, Aang almost fell and lost his balance if not for the strong hand that suddenly gripped his shoulder, steadying him. Man, he didn't know the wizened old man had such an iron grip. He breathed out thankfully under the weight of Pathik's hand. Something in the guru's manner and countenance slowly made him realize that while the old man was supporting him, he was also forcing him to _stay_.

So then, if he was to think like an old guru - this was a vision to be shared only by the two of them. It had spiritual significance. Perhaps it was enlightenment come to serve him, the Avatar, with guidance.

He shouldn't let his fear control him.

The Silver made a swipe of its own with a foot armed with gold tipped talons, it drew blood, and the Scarlet roared for vengeance as the dark red liquid rained down from the heavens. He tried and failed to measure his breaths. Both predator's eyes locked on one another as their enormous bodies flew away and started circling each other in a barbarian ritual of death. His heartbeat quickened again. The Scarlet launched itself across the perimeter, the cruel fork of its tongue flicking against the bared sharp teeth. He choked back a cry. The fog rolled in and he was blinded.

And the world was filled with a silent, yet lamenting sadness that touched and echoed in every fiber of his being. Slowly, softly, a body sank in the shifting whiteness, an enormous, powerful body, glinting silver in the mist. The Scarlet cried triumphantly and breathed flames redder than the blood dripping down its muzzle.

Aang turned sad gray eyes. The guru was facing him now, his ancient gaze boring into his.

"Why did I have to see this?" asked the young boy, feeling weak and dizzy. The dragon of red slaughtering the dragon of silver in front of The Western Air Temple was a bitter analogy to the brutal massacre of his people, the Air Nomads by those of the Fire Nation.

"Why did you bring me here?"

Pathik's heavy hand left Aang's shoulder… and took his hand instead. He held it carefully, as if seeking the young airbender's permission. The young airbender squeezed the elder's hand weakly, but reassuringly. Agreeing that one shall lead while the other follows. Then, together as ones sharing a dream would, they stepped into the chasm.

But it was rough rock that greeted their footfalls.

And forward they went, forward and downward in a steep stone staircase that curved with the mountain.

* * *

Azula raised a challenging black brow at that, a subtle implication that he was clearly risking his recently retained position. It wasn't to her liking that he was stalking her from shadowy corners, questioning her decisions as if he held the power to make any himself. _Someone, _she vented in her venomous mind, _Needs be reminded who father's favorite IS._

Zuko however, remained unfazed by her silent threatening. "Why shouldn't _I_ stay here and help carry out father's instructions? _I've _obtained this victory, why should _you _enjoy the spoilsplaying governor while I run about and trifle with… with stupid peasants!"

She paused a mere second to marvel at his nerve before retorting, "Simply because _I _am father's favorite. _I _was named an heir after _you _were exiled.And, most importantly, _I _command the Dai Li."

Both sets of eyes were narrowed as the siblings glared at one another.

"Would you want me to call them?" she suggested sweetly, "They overpowered you once, as you recall…" she smiled as the memory slipped before her mind's eye, "They _can_ do that again."

Zuko growled, tilting his head forward so that his face darkened behind the black fall of his longish bangs. The only points of light on his face were his striking golden eyes, and they flared with fiendish fury. She knew… she knew he knew he stood no chance against her. But it wasn't like him to back down and obey her; it wasn't even in him to fake such obedience, the stupid fool.

"You may be under the impression I have a use for you."

His eyes widened, she smirked.

"I don't."

He seethed. "You expect me to _buy_ that? I saw you fight against the Avatar, Azula, you're no match for him and his allies by yourself. You know that, you needed me then and nothing changes now. You won't be able to capture him without my help."

"I won't?!" she snarled, his stubbornness having finally succeeded in driving away her patience. "You are replaceable Zuko. Turn against me and I'll find myself another ally. But this isn't about _me_ Zuko…" the edges around her tone softened there, "There's so much to do in the other parts of the kingdom. We haven't won this war. It'll be a long time _even after_ we capture the Avatar before Fire Nation rule becomes absolute. Yes, I have duties here and _no," _her brow hardened "I will not share them."

She sighed then, and arched both her brows at him, feigning sisterly concern. "But what about you Zuko? Will you throw away your regained honor, will you turn your back on your own nation… and your chance to go back home?"

Throughout her whole speech, he glowered at her; his mouth set in a harsh and very displeased line. She recognized the angle, even as a child, Zuko would always set his mouth like that when he was mentally arguing with himself. Oh, she would give her weight in gold to know his thoughts, she knew he could never trust her, yet he was desperate to win back that image of a fire nation prince, heir to the throne. His despair turned him reckless; and into recklessness she couldn't read.

At last, stiff arms loosened at his sides, fists unclenched and shoulders slumped in unspoken defeat. Golden eyes, however, were still trained on her with unwavering fire.

"Give me one day before I leave. And when I go, I shall go alone."

* * *

Somehow, he knew he was there before he saw his fallen form, large and foreboding even while it lay lifeless and broken at the feet of the towering mountain.

Aang drew nearer, near enough that he could see the silver glimmer under the mounting layers of dirt and blood. He couldn't tear his eyes away from the lonely form, lying there in the bleakness of its doom. Why did this blood have to be spilt? To what cause or end? Unbidden, flashes of the shattered Southern Air Temple came to his mind. Nameless bones scattered amongst the ashes.

Behind him, an almost forgotten presence answered his musings.

"I know what it is you've seen at the Southren Air Temple."

Aang gasped upon recognizing the voice of the formerly silent Guru Pathik. He didn't turn, however. His eyes locked on the image of the dying serpent.

"You saw death, and sorrow… and hopelessness. You saw the ruined remnants of your home, of your family. You saw the ashes of the fires against which they struggled… and within you also struggled. And then, you gave up on them. You gave up on your people, just like this world and era gave up on them long before. You saw them fallen, they saw them fall. For a century, they've been dead and lost. And now they call you the last one. "

Aang felt himself shivering as the guru's word slowly drifted around in his mind, reforming as questions and absurd implications. "I don't understand…" He whispered weakly. "Are you saying…" he closed his eyes tightly, trying to fight back his overwhelmed tears. They died… the Fire Nation burned them… surely Pathik couldn't mean that… surely he couldn't be saying that….

His fists clenched at his side with bitter determination. He would ask now, before that mad sort of hope came to dominate his heart. "Are you saying the Air Nomads survived?" _No! _His mind protested. _They couldn't… they couldn't have survived and left me all alone… _

"Look." Came the old man's answer.

And Aang lifted his bewildered gray eyes, but it was his ears that sensed it first. A chorus of weak, squeaks and caws, and scratching feet on mossy rocks as slowly, a small flocking of dragon hatchlings crawled away from behind the fallen adult, their oversized wings dragging in the mud. Amazed, he watched the deeply mourning, yet odd acceptance that shone in the brilliance of their serpentine emerald eyes. Their eyes, that found his and held them.

"I give you this hope." He heard Pathik say. "To heal and strengthen your heart. The Avatar State is a path closed for you; it is another path you must tread. A harsher trail, where the earthly boundaries and attachments you so dearly embraced will be your companions. Pleasure, Love, Lies, Illusions, Guilt..."

"But I give you this hope to be a light in your heart", he rasped softly. "And in your heart it will stay. Even though you'll forget the dream once you waken."

A deep rumble resounded in the heavens, around them the healing rain started to fall.

"Know, Avatar, that in due time you'll be reunited with your family."

One by one, the hatchlings spread their wings and took off into the storm, seeking shelter in the nearby cliffs.

* * *

The sun was rising in the east when they came marching through the surrendered gates and into the sleepy city, throwing shadows long and black under the blood red sky.

Slowly, gradually, the Earth Kingdom people opened their eyes to the murky grayness that seeped in through their windows and breathed in the unfamiliar stench of gunpowder. Slowly, gradually, Doors were thrown open only to be bolted and shut close as the steady, drumming beat of falling feet and growling metal machinery advanced through the sprawling maze of main streets and avenues.

There was a new day in Ba Sing Se, the first day of a new order.

**A/N: This is the first piece of fanfiction I've ever written, please be kind with your reviews but don't hold back any criticism or other necessary feedback. English, as you might have already noticed, is not my first language. I'll be forever grateful if someone could volunteer and beta-read the next chapter so that there aren't any grammar mistakes.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Air bender. They belong to their respective creators, owners and licensees.**

* * *

Again it was that damnable silence dealt to him. He could take a lecture, a scolding; he would even rather stomach an insult… something, anything but this dreadful detachment of mind and soul. The dark haired prince stood there feeling more and more like a ghost, an illusion descendent of the darkness that roamed the small, dank cell. One word, with one spoken word the man, curse him, could demand that he leave him alone. Leave him he would, as he must. But not so soon… not before he hears his uncle's voice this one last time. Telling him to leave.

There was a time, when he was young and unsacred when a word from his esteemed uncle, the fabled Dragon of the West could have meant the world to him. These years were now but a fading memory, though there had once been a time when Iroh was the glorified heir to his grandfather's throne. Zuko idolized him then, the kindly man his father had sought so hard to be rid off.

His memory cleared at the summer when his father finally succeeded in obtaining his jealous goal. That summer, Uncle returned from the war that took his son away from him only to be greeted by the nephew who now was all that _he_ ceased to be: A royal heir to the Fire Nation throne. However, there was no spite to be found in Iroh that summer, or any other summer that followed. His smiles were always genuine, his advice always true. He embraced Zuko as the son he had lost.

He told him that he thought of him as his own.

But look at them now… how destiny had pitted them against each other.

"You told me to look into my heart!" He stated to the unheeding silence. "And I did. I made my choice, Uncle. My father, my throne… my honor… it's true that I tried to forget…" absentmindedly he lifted one pale hand to stroke the place where his warrior's tail once grew. "I couldn't forget…" Frustration drew lines on his face and trickled into the previously self-assured tone, "How could I ever forget?! In the past months travelling with you I tried to be many things… so many things! But nothing was right… nothing _felt_ right…"

He screwed his eyes shut and cursed in annoyance, he hadn't meant to share all of this, yet his unresponsive uncle was driving him to mumble and stumble on his words like some sensitive fool.

"_What_ don't you understand!" He cried, his voice intensifying with every ounce of accusation he could muster. "_You_ are the one who sided with the Avatar, _you_ helped him get to his waterbender. That was treachery against Father! For Agni's sake, here I am… seeking the approval of a traitor…"

Silence reigned.

"But of course you don't think yourself a traitor, do you Uncle?" He commented bitterly, his voice growing dry from its recent onslaught of emotion. "You want me to understand that what you did was right, that what you did was _good_." He took in a deep hissing breath as two plums of smoke puffed out of his ears, clarifying the approach of another drawing spell of inner turmoil. "Well what _IS _good?!" He kicked up a cloud of dust on the floor. "Where do you see good in all of this? Would it have pleased you if I betrayed Father? If I joined forces with the Avatar and fought my own people? Maybe if I would have simply turned my back to this… all of this, and stalked away to live my life as a peasant_…_leaving the throne to my sister… Would that be _good_?"

Silence still. Zuko could barely suppress a frustrated growl. His hands suddenly yearned to grab onto his uncle's shoulder and yank him around so that the man would at least look him in the eye. Instead, the livid young man started pacing around the room like a caged tiger. "Well I can decide for myself what's good. It's about time I stood up and fought. Did you _really_ think I would be content working in a teashop? A _Fire Nation prince_ working in a teashop?! I was meant for greater things. All my life I trained and worked hard and now I finally get a chance to prove myself… I won't let it get away."

A coarse intake of air suddenly interfered his speech. Zuko's glare only just barely wavered as the prisoner's hunched shoulders rose and fell. The man was gathering his breath to speak. _Here it comes _thought the outcast prince, bracing himself. His uncle's disgust with him will finally find a verbal expression. At last, a voice tired and beaten came out of the shadows.

"I'm sorry…"

A numbing shiver ran down Zuko's spine. For one long moment, golden eyes widened in disbelief just before narrowing into a mistrustful glower.

In his mind an angry beast roared into life. Regardless of the considerable impactof whatever the Fire Nation prince conspired or executed, his uncle would always slip into the character of the patronizing authority, and unquestionably shoulder the burden of responsibility. As if in the old man's eyes, he - Zuko, was never capable enough.

Though another treacherous voice laced itself_ '_round the blaring haze of his thoughts, a weak, heartened voice that he often found himself trying to ignore more than anything: '_As if… as if HE is the one who should do the apologizing'._

"I'm sorry...", repeated the man, heaving a heavy sigh. "I couldn't bear to watch you pushing yourself like you did, suffering like you did… and thus I distracted you from the things you derive your meaning from... Those big questions you never answered for yourself. Our time experimenting with these false, commoner identities has distracted you from the mediating you should have done. It has left you unprepared for the inevitable."

Zuko gritted his teeth impatiently. His uncle was speaking in riddles. "I don't understand."

Eyes still examining the wall rather than his anxious nephew, Iroh heaved what would have been another sigh lest it so quickly transformed into an alarmingly harsh cough.

All spoken words and misgivings were momentarily forgotten from Zuko as he frightfully watched his uncle shake and tremble, possessed by a fit of ragged coughs. Normally the upbeat man would suppress any signs of weakness. But Zuko wouldn't be so surprised to learn that Iroh had aged more quickly then he should have had to in the past year, just as he felt he had aged himself. They were all changed. His uncle never seemed older and weaker in his eyes before.

"Did they give you enough blankets?" He didn't hold back the tinge of worry from his voice; he didn't let it shadow the fear he was suddenly feeling either, his golden eyes were wide with it. Was his uncle sick? How long could he hold up like that… under these conditions... "Are they feeding you well?" He paused to grit his teeth again after this additional bit of stupidity left his mouth. His uncle was a prisoner held under the sinister charge of treason. His meals were probably made up of stale bread and defiled water. Of course he was not cared for, nor did he have any right in the kingdom to be cared for. The resettling silence in the chamber seemed to agree to that.

He couldn't stay there any longer. He had to leave, before his desperate resolve broke under the impending weight of his emotions to this old man.

"I am leaving the city…", He informed his uncle, his voice hardened. "There's an uprising of Earth Kingdom peasants aided by Water Tribe warriors. Their numbers are numerous and they keep growing. Army reports tell us that there's also a large group of water and earth benders gathered there… in Jiao-Cha. I'm headed there tomorrow."

He threw one last glance at the man sitting on his cot in the corner, just as he had been doing for most of the last hour. Still as a statue. His back turned, face observing the shadows as if their depths were much more intriguing, or held much more promise than his false young nephew. Zuko's mouth tensed into a displeased line.

"This is not saying goodbye." He suddenly demanded off the quiet, stubbornly banishing all ominous thoughts of his uncle's failing health to the back of his mind. Shoving a hand into a pocket, he drew out a slender black object and impulsively, slammed it down on the prisoner's musty mattress. With that, he turned away, golden eyes downcast as he stormed out of the chamber. The guard posted at the entrance shut close the heavy brick sealing after the Fire Nation prince's retreating back.

Only a diminished, scarce amount of torchlight filtered in now that the door was shut, but it was enough light to guide the old man's knobby fingers as they searched for the ebony handle of the object laid on the thin, coarse material of his blanket. Aged eyes widened in wonder at the textural familiarity of the surface when he touched it. Unexplainably, he knew beyond doubt that this was not the first time his that his fingers traced the lines of the object, that his hand tested its weight. Wistfully, he unsheathed the small pearl handled knife and squinted at the carved lettering he knew he would find on its blade: '_Never give up without a fight'. _

A salty tear slid down the crook of his jaw and dampened the metal.

"I am sorry." He whispered. "I am so sorry I failed you."

* * *

Her name was the first thing he said after opening wide gray eyes to the morning. Time seemed to freeze as he slowly dragged himself up to a sitting position and stared around in mild confusion. Katara, Sokka and Toph all looked back at him, their expressions unintelligible. Behind them stood a distantly familiar image of a tall, slim man, crescent spectacles on the tip of his nose. The man was also observing him, his face an expression caught between awe and guilt. Aang blinked his eyes once, twice… and shifted uncomfortably under the weight of what seemed to be everyone's undivided attention.

At last, he found his voice. Bewilderedly he asked them if anything happened while he slept, then went straight to inquiring as to why the penguin they didn't wake him up for breakfast? They knew how he loved Katara's cooking! Actually, he was so famished that he could trade his life for a bowl of her vegetable soup… This finally helped to snap his friends out of their dazed state as they burst into a collective pill of a suspiciously all too cheerful laughter. Surely what he just said wasn't that funny, was it? Eyes bright and still laughing, Katara threw her arms around him and he blushed as a hot trickle of tears fell on his neck, tears that were not his own. She removed herself from him half a minute later to confront Sokka, who was still laughing hysterically to the point of clutching his stomach, even though all of the others already stopped.

"Katara's… cooking!" He sniffed and whizzed.

That earned him a very sore cheek and a lesson not to push an emotionally exhausted, overexcited waterbender when there's a teakettle boiling nearby. Now he was sitting on a rock by the edge of the clearing, brooding over his boomerang and grumbling to himself about how his sister was plotting to brand him with Zuko's scar one of these days. The ever nearby Earth King, still mesmerized from the combination of Aang's wakening and that unexpected late bout of waterbending nodded his head absent mindedly at the boy's mumbling. The regal young man never seemed to stray too far away from Sokka's side after the latter rescued him from imprisonment within the walls of his own castle.

The morning sun was warm and gentle in the small grassy forest clearing they occupied, Aang still rested, regaining his strength and mediating on his memories of the last battle. The memories came back to him only after gulping down a warm bowlful of soup. Horrifying memories; Flashes of fire red, crystal emerald and river blue exploding and whipping against the rocky cavern walls of the underground city. Was it truly only a day ago that he fell? He suddenly felt as if he was a decade short of his life. Precious time, so ironically slipping through his fingers.

Truly, things had never seemed more hopeless. Now he knew that he would never achieve the Avatar State. This recent inability already brought him close enough to losing his life. Once he died the battle was lost. All would be lost. The noon sun was growing hotter each passing day, how many days did they have until the summer solstice? Will the time be enough? Could any amount of days ever be enough for what they strove to accomplish?

A cool hand suddenly covered his brow. Usually he would have been grateful for her concern, but this was the seventh time Katara was checking him for fever in the span of the last hour and he was getting tired of that pity display. "Katara, I'm _fine_…" he complained, shuffling away from her crouching figure. "I was fine eight minutes ago and I am still fine now!"

Tan cheeks slightly reddening, the water tribe girl dropped her hand to her side and looked away uncomfortably. "I am sorry Aang… it's just… you look so troubled…" Aang furrowed his brows at her, ruefully noticing how bedraggled she was for the first time. Her long, wavy brown hair fell wild and unkempt about her shoulders. Her face was strangely pale and there were dark shadows beneath her eyes.

"Of course he is troubled." Toph Bei Fong jumped off the rock she was lounging on and landed with a soft thud besides Aang. The sharp-tongued girl spat out the grass blade she was absently chewing on before resuming her little speech. "Earth Kingdom's done for. Now we'll have to find someone else to help us fight the fire benders."

Katara shook her head at that. "No, you're wrong. The Fire Nation may have taken over the big cities but there are still people scattered all over the land and I'm sure they're banding to _fight_… wherever they are." She clenched a stubborn fist lifting her eyes from where she was kneeling, she flashed a determined blue eyed glower at Aang and Toph, though she already registered the latter couldn't see it anyway. "The Earth Kingdom people _will_ stand against the Fire Nation."

"Yeah yeah I know people will fight'em back." Shrugged Toph. "No need to get all worked up about it, Sugar Queen. Still, it won't be the same as having the Earth Kingdom's royal fleet at our back."

"It's not just the Earth Kingdom.", Sighed Aang. "I was unable to get into the Avatar State. I think I may have lost it. Guru Pathik warned me that I'll lose it if I…" He paused and sneaked an unsure glance over at Katara, deep down he was wary of revealing to her why exactly he wasn't and wouldn't be able to go into the Avatar State anymore. He was afraid. He was so afraid she wouldn't forgive him if she had learned that he chose her over the power that might have won them the war. "He-he warned me that I can loose it…" he stuttered. "If I w-was attacked through the process of entering it…" The words tasted bitter in his mouth, but it seemed to Aang that no one recognized them for what they really were, a lie.

Unbeknownst to him, a pair of small, dirty bare feet twitched on the ground. But whether she might have been thinking at the time, Toph kept her lips sealed and words unspoken. There was no point in delaying on the why and how. They had a world to save and things were going to be much harder now, seriously harder without the Avatar State.

Finally, Sokka spoke up, interrupting many a dreary train of thought. "Look guys there's no point in dwelling over what we can't do… let's think what we _can _do…" He stood up from his perch on the rock and scratched his chin thoughtfully. "Aang," he said as he approached the young airbender. "Are you _sure_ you can't reach the Avatar State."

"Yes." Said Aang.

"Are you positive?"

"Yes…"

"Ah! But how positive _are_ you?"

"_Sokka_…" growled a thoroughly irked Katara while Toph commented, "You really can't help it can you Meat Head?"

"I was just checking if there really wasn't anything we _can't _do…" He defended "Now to what we _can_ do…"

"We should go back and rescue Iroh." Katara cut in and she too, rose to her feet.

"Exactly as I was about to sa… WHAT!" Sokka's jaw visibly dropped at what he regarded a very unappealing course of action straight out of the blue. Though Katara's expression was sure, as if she was stating the obvious. Her slender brown hands rested defiantly on her hips. Sokka shook his head as if to clear it of some very sticky nonsense bits. "No, no… no, no, no, no, no." He rounded on Katara with a deliberate scowl etched onto his features. "NO."

"He saved our lives!" Katara protested, glaring her brother down. "If he hadn't stepped in between us and the Dai Li and Azula… and Zuko… " Her eyes screwed shut for an instant when the last name left her lips. Annoyance… Sheer annoyance at her brother and that Fire Nation gag.

"She has a point you know." Started Toph, calling back the straying attention of a certain water bender to the matter at hand. "And anyway now that he's sided with us everyone will be his enemy there. What if they execute him?" Her brows knit together in a scowl of her own. Sokka flinched. "We're the only ones able to rescue him! Even though he risked it to save his nephew it doesn't seem like _that_ one is going to return the favor."

"You're both right." acknowledged Aang from his seat on the ground.

"Oy… not you too…" grumbled Sokka.

"We can't leave him behind!" asserted the young Avatar. "He's a friend now."

"No he's not!" squeaked a disgruntled Sokka, leaning forward and bringing his face down to glare the young Avatar straight in his eyes. "He's FIRE NATION for crying out loud!_ ROYALTY _Fire Nationnonetheless! He's Angry Swishing Ponytail's ole' uncle!" They all gave him a look. "Okay, forget that ponytail bit… But what if he was _faking_ it?! Did this ever cross your minds it could all be some part of a _plot _to win our trust? He will sell us to our enemies!"

Aang was about to argue back at that but he was cut short of words when Toph stomped forward and poked a stubby little finger at the Water Tribe warrior's broad chest. "Do _you _Question my ability to detect lies Meat Head?!"

"Well… no…" he said, suddenly reduced to stuttering. "But…"

"He _can't _be plotting against us without me _knowing_ it!" Hissed the earth bender, Sokka suddenly recalled how Toph seemed to have developed an understanding of sorts with General Iroh of the Fire Nation. She told them how they met and had tea in a forest. But seriously, was a small woodland tea party a good enough excuse to befriend a high-ranking enemy general? Sometimes he thought Toph might be crazier than his own baby sister. "I say it's settled." Said the earth bender. "Unless Sokka's _scared_ that is…" Sokka huffed and crossed his arms defensively.

"You also can't ignore the fact Iroh is a powerful fire bender," Katara added after a thoughtful pause. "Aang _needs_ someone to teach him how to fire bend… at least until we find Jeong jeong… if Iroh could travel with us…"

"If he could teach me that would be great, he must have been very powerful to hold off the fire benders and the Dai Lee when Katara and I escaped…" said slightly cheered up Aang. "But…", He proceeded with a slight note of hesitation. "How _do _we rescue him? The city is probably crawling with Fire Nation troops by now. How do we sneak him out of the palace? Getting in and out of the palace wouldn't be as simple as last time now that Azula's in charge… and it wasn't all that simple last time to begin with…"

A soft cough called their attention to the nervous looking, former Earth King. "If I may," he began cautiously, as if unsure as to what he's lending a hand to here. "I know of a channel of secret underground passages… more like a labyrinth, really, other excavated parts of the Crystal Catacombs. They connect to the palace's foundations and few other several exits scattered in the city itself - in the lower and middle rings, I think. I'm not sure where exactly… I never used them myself, though my father would sometimes take advantage of them for maintaining some of his more… err, private affairs."

"But you do know how to access them from the palace… right?" asked a ponderous Aang, a small smile dawned on his features when the man nodded his head in affirmation.

"The entrance is disguised as a tomb in the underground crypts, a little further down from the prison cells where they are probably keeping your friend. It is dark but…" he chuckled nervously. "That'll be easily remedied by a fire bender. The tomb you are looking for is decorated with carvings of the Kiyoshi Warriors of old, you'll recognize the fans. The coffin opens to a stairway that'll take you down into the passages."

"That's it guys." Aang was positively glowing now. "We _only_ gotta disguise ourselves as we _enter_."

Sokka's eyes narrowed thoughtfully as the he rubbed that invisible spot on his chin again. "Fire Nation soldiers are going to be everywhere." He finally volunteered. "Dressing up as some could save us the trouble of entering the palace, maybe even finding and getting into Iroh's cell."

Katara raised a brow at her brother. "So you're with us?"

"I don't like this, but somehow I don't like the idea of leaving him there either…" His brow creased into a dark frown.

"Then it's settled." Said Katara, repeating Toph's statement from before. A small smile was dawning on her lips too at the prospect of finally moving out to _do_ something, but that smile died once she noticed its twin on Aang's face.

"Aang…" started Katara. "You know you can't come with us."

"What? I…" Aang's expression dropped, though he was not surprised, his hand unconsciously reaching for the tender scar still healing on his back. The deep wound was gone, but the flesh was still sore and made him twitch with agonizing pain if accidentally provoked.

"You know she's right Aang." Said Sokka. "You are in no shape to fight… and you wouldn't look very convincing in Fire Nation armor either."

"Their helmets are fully masked…" Tried the defeated sounding air bender.

Sokka sighed. "It's more of a matter of height…" As he said that, his gaze traveled from the disheveled Avatar to his earth bending teacher. Reading into the situation, Toph shrugged nonchalantly, apparently being rejected from this particular mission did nothing to ruffle her feathers.

"Oh well, I wasn't planning on returning to that rundown city anytime soon anyway." said she in a tone that rejected any sign of dismals. She believed her friends would be powerful enough to handle this one without her, they weren't planning for any big confrontations anyway, only sneaking in and out so she wasn't going to miss much to begin with. And she was quite content with the fact none of them was up too leaving Uncle Iroh behind. "I guess it's up to me to stay here and guard Twinkle Toes and his majesty." She realized someone would have to stay behind anyway and admittedly, she not unhappy to miss the opportunity of revisiting Ba Sing Se. She never really liked the Earth Kingdom capitol, holy badgers, she didn't like cities period.

Aang's face reddened. "I don't need guarding!" He protested, but Toph only smirked confidently and retorted a short. "Don't push it Twinkle Toes."

"We'll have to take Appa for crossing the outer and inner walls." Katara commented, knowing everyone's attention was now on her as she casually shouldered her water flask and helped herself into the giant saddle straddled onto the air bison's back. She swiftly proceeded to smooth and arrange her disgruntled brown mane back into the usual braid and loops.

"_What?_" She pointedly asked her brother who looked close to bursting with overprotective contempt. "I'm tall too you know. You can't do this by yourself, _Sokka_. You may need a little more than a boomerang in hand if things get messed up!"

"_I know that_." Whined he, tossing a random pack of food for the road onto Appa's saddle, only narrowly missing his disobedient sister's pouting face. "That's why I don't like you coming!"

* * *

The sun was setting when they finally entered the lower rings, muting all colors around them as the night drew closer.

Was this truly the same city? She remembered a different Ba Sing Se. The streets they stalked through under the veiling of cloak and hood felt strange and foreign. Steely war machines threw shadows on corners where once merchant carts would stop and attract the crowds to loudly barter and haggle. But where were those crowds now? Locked away in fear behind closed doors and windows… doors and windows that once chatty housewives would throw open to gossip for hours and hours over the hustle and bustle. Hustle and bustle that was now replaced by wary silence as red and black armored soldiers walked from house to house, checking for the presence of Earth Benders and all other sorts of rebel threats.

Katara had always admired the people of the Earth Kingdom. Even before she left the South Pole on this mad crusade and actually met any. They were permanent glorified heroes in the tales Gran Gran told her as a child, a people strong and persistent and true to their beliefs. She had sought so much inspiration from those tales, as a child, as a girl growing, as a young woman. They never gave up. She knew it, she sometimes thought, even as they seemed to forget. But nevertheless, The Earth People went on living whatever simple life they envisioned for themselves, not yielding to the stretching shadows of conquest. Truly, they were her inspiration still.

The blue eyed water bender muffled a gasp when she felt a sudden tug on her sleeve. She quickly turned her attention to her brother. Sokka angled his head towards one of the allies and hissed a whisper at her.

"I saw two go down this way."

She nodded her head back at him, implying she understood and together they crept into the small dimly lit passageway that snaked between old rundown buildings leaning in odd angles. The groups of Fire Nation soldiers they had encountered up till then were made of ten in the least. Thankfully their guise didn't attract that much of attention, they blended in perfectly with the numbered lost souls and old drunkards that still wandered the streets like a pack of haunting, faceless ghosts. Every city had its beggars.

They found the two said soldiers a short way down the said alley, one was propped tiredly against the wall while the other uncorked what appeared to be a drink of local production. Recklessly, Sokka threw back his mud colored hood and stepped forward from the sheltering shadow of one rotten wood shack, Katara followed suit, the corner of her mouth lifted to form a typical crooked smirk.

"Great." She remarked satisfactorily as her knees bent into a bending stance. "One of them is just about my size." Nodding his head in wordless concentration, Sokka unsheathed the boomerang from the case flung over his back.

Her voice having called their attention, the Fire Nation soldiers finally removed it from the ale bottle and bewilderedly turned to face the Water Tribe siblings. The one previously leaning against the wall grabbed a spearlike weapon and the other made a useless threatening gesture with the glass bottle still clutched in his hand, however, they were both a second too late with whatever it was they planned to do to thwart the Avatar's allies.

Gleaming in the scarlet haze of sunset, an ice edged water whip slashed through the still air and sent one of the men crashing against a wall. Sokka's boomerang found a ringing mark on the other's metal helmet.

"Not exactly the brightest couple of fellows were they?" Bantered Sokka.

Katara rolled her eyes at him as she knelt beside one and then the other, sneaking a hand from beneath the swell of her cloak to check their pulses. "They're _still_ alive Sokka… will probably be out for a couple of hours. With this kind of luck in a couple of hours this will all be over."

"Let's not tempt anyone to correct that " suggested a wary looking Sokka, he was still unhappy to be sharing this jeopardous task with no one but his sister, usually Aang tagged along when they were risking it, but obviously now they had no other talents to depend on but theirs. Although he had to admit Katara was growing alarmingly powerful with her bending skills, once she could barely fling a fish out of the water with it. But he had already seen her take down lines of Earth Kingdom soldiers with one flick of her liquid mace, and knock the lights out of one particular Fire Nation prince.

He was dragged short out of his musings as suddenly a sizable object hurtled towards him, his hands caught the helmet a second before it hit him square in the chest.

"Try it on big shot." Laughed Katara, regally ignoring his sulking as she fidgeted around with a breast armor, slightly frowning to herself as she attempted to adjust the straps so that they fit her lithe frame while still leaving enough breadth to mask her gender.

"Hey Sokka… I wonder if I'll look good in Fire Nation red?"

* * *

**A/N: I thank Veglma, whatsername911, silimac7, indigochipmunk & gangstergandi for kindly reviewing chapter 1, I hope the delay between the chapters was not too long – usually it'll take me 2 to 3 weeks to update.**

**As of now I am still looking for a beta reader, if anyone's willing to help… :)**

**Next chapter is a Sokka X Katara X Zuko X Iroh special. Prepare yourselves…**


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